


breathe and live

by adjectiff



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Hagrid Deserves Better, Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE, Harry Potter Needs a Hug, Post-Battle of Hogwarts, Post-War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-25
Updated: 2020-06-25
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:15:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,485
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24910681
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/adjectiff/pseuds/adjectiff
Summary: After the battle of Hogwarts, life continues and people rebuilt themselves.Sometimes, what you need is just some alone time to reflect and appreciate life.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 8





	breathe and live

**Author's Note:**

> disclaimer: I do not own the characters - they belong to JKR. 
> 
> this is the first time i ever post something i wrote, so i'm extra nervous about it. be nice to me.  
> i hope you'll enjoy it.

This was a time of calm. A well-deserved time of peace. After years and years of fear, war, grief and all the bad and the worst things to imagine. Now they all welcome a new era. Every thing was different. You could feel it in the air. It was like that Muggle song. Joyful times ahead indeed. But for now, some were about to get back to school. Get back their lives on a more normal track, minus the constant fear of runaways, backfire consequences, implying deaths, tortures, undesired hexing, Unforgivable Curses, disappearances, loss and all the following. The youngest were told by owl the Ministry had decided they were going back to Hogwarts for their last year, to get their diploma. It was good news, even though most were complaining. Deep down it appeared like a relief : a stability after years of uncertainty. Of curse, most were anxious about going back. War had changed a lot of people. Changed in both ways. Trauma had a huge part obviously. The nightmares were shared by almost every living souls : adults, children, young wizards who were to young to fight but had to at some point eventually. Nightmares took various forms and intensity. No one was spared. Some cried, screamed, woke up in sweat in the middle of the night unable to do anything but stare into the void hoping all the bad images would go away soon. In the short time, some nightmares faded into a constant rumour. They were the lucky ones. The others who hadn’t that much chance, welcomed back those vivid realistic dreams each nights. People were good at hiding the dark circles day after day, keeping the mood strong, not showing their weaknesses. But was it really a weakness when your neighbour could relate to it and his neighbour too and basically the whole town, country ? Nevertheless, characters were strong and even such traumatic event could not turn everything upside down. In the end, war changed them all, through the bad and the good. So the anxiousness of going back was legit.

The castle was in a bad shape. Bricks had fallen, ruins on the East wing and countless details results of the war zone the domain had become. The air had a different feeling too, charged with the tears, sweat and blood. All over the summer break, the Ministry had put all its energy to rebuild everything and make it as safe as it was, or maybe even more. Professors came back as well to help, for their students’ sake. It felt good to be back, to be able to soon welcome their students and share their knowledge with them. They were confident in the Ministry’s decision to open up the school. Of course, they knew the first few months would be decisive for the rest of the year. And some young wizards would play a major part in this. Nonetheless, they were optimistic for the times ahead. 

It was strange to pack your suitcase for a Hogwarts. Again. After all that happened the last few months. Mostly because he didn’t knew if he would still be alive mostly. He was too clever to say this at loud, of course. He knew with all his soul Hermione, Ron or anyone would have yell at him to have such dark thoughts. But he was glad, ecstatic to be alive. Obviously he was sad — to say the least, more like he felt responsible — about all the ones they lost in the War, the Battle of Hogwarts and the in-betweens. He felt a bit… weird as well, like something was missing. Because for the first time in forever, neither Voldemort, Death Eaters would jeopardise his life or interrupt his school with some evil schemes. It was nice for a change to begin a new year without a heavy worry on his mind that he could die any time soon. This year would be different. He could feel it. He knew it and he sweared to himself he would do everything to do so. This year would be his. Out of all the attention, free to live his life without fear or second thoughts. He could actually finally enjoy his teenage years. Or what was left of it. During the summer, things changed for him. For sure, the most important was his survival. He did it. He was for the second time The-Boy-Who-Lived. But during the summer, he let go of all of this. Tried to enjoy his life. Ginny and him, who started dating, ended it but they remained close friends. They realised they were better off friends than lovers, to Ron’s relieve. Ron and Hermione had started dating too, and they still were a thing. Harry was happy for them. His two best friends together and happy. Deep down, Harry knew something was up between them and seeing it become true was both uncanny and amazing. He just hoped that if things were to end they would still be friends and keep things comfortable for him. He still had vivid memories from the Sixth Year when they both did not speak to each other and him in the middle. It felt like a child in a divorce household. For now, he did not have to complain, they were as happy as they could and that was enough for now. Harry spent some times at the Burrow with the Weasleys. All the family were supporting each other. But at some point Harry needed some alone time to sort things out. Hermione and Ron wanted to join, of course. They were his best friends and they would not let him go that easily. After all, they road-tripped together to find horcruxes a year ago to help him defeat Voldemort, so naturally they offered to join. Harry had to convince them it was for the best and he promised to write an owl every day if necessary. Things got a bit blurry, but he is sure at some point Hermione cried and hugged him tight. So did Ron. And they finally understood he had to go for a bit. He promised to go after his birthday, and that’s exactly what he did. 

He then took a port-key to a small village in France, where the odds of being-known were slim to none. He stayed in a small cottage near the sea. He could hear the waves crashed the shores through his window. The small inn made him think of Fleur and Bill’s home. But he did not think about it much. Sadness would then over flow him and he did not want this to happen. He wrote a few owls like he promised to do. The first ones were for the Weasleys, to Ron and to Hermione, but also to Andromeda and his new godson Teddy, and finally to Hagrid. He thought a lot about the semi-giant. He had him go through a lot — caring his not-really-dead-body for a start — and he realised how much he cared for him. He even bought him a little gift and once wrote him a story about a magical creature he encountered in a _creek_ one day. He also wrote a letter for the Dursleys. It was strange. They had really had been in contact, for obvious safety reasons of course. But he felt like he should do it. Because no matter what, Harry had a good heart and they were his family. He started writing a numerous number of times, but it never felt right. He stroke out anything and throw them away. Finally, one morning, when the sun was not entirely awake, he took a pen and a piece of paper. He didn’t write much. Just a sentence or two.

_« Hello,_

_Hope you’re safe. He’s dead, I am ok._

_Thank you,_

_Harry. »_

Just a simple letter. The only problem was, he didn’t know the address. And he knew Petunia and Vernon liked being perfectly normal people. Receiving a letter from their nephew by owl was not something very normal at all. Since he did not know what to do then, he kept the letter in his bag until he could figure things out.

It was good to spend some time alone, especially after all the mess and the rush his life was. He had time to reflect on the bright side of life to chase the bad thoughts away, and some times it worked. The rest of the times, he kept his mind busy with various activities. But he was grateful for his friends and family. Cause even if his parents and godfathers (yes, Remus was included in this one, he was a parental figure at some point) were no longer with him, he had the Weasleys. They were his second family, they welcomed him in their lives without a second thought and took care of him. He will be forever thankful he ever crossed path with them. 


End file.
